Finite symmetries of S^4

DOI10.1515/FORUM-2014-0083MaRDI QIDQ254055zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Weimin Chen, Slawomir Kwasik, Reinhard Schultz

Publication date 8 March 2016

Published in Forum Mathematicum (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1412.5901

zbMATH Keywords

4-dimensional surgery4-spherefinite group actionfixed pointKS-invariantlocally linear

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Group actions on manifolds and cell complexes in low dimensions (57M60) Surgery obstructions, Wall groups (57R67) Groups acting on specific manifolds (57S25)

Abstract: This paper discusses topological and locally linear actions of finite groups on $S^4$. Local linearity of the orientation preserving actions on $S^4$ forces the group to be a subgroup of $SO(5)$. On the other hand, orientation reversing topological actions of "exotic" groups $G$ (i.e. $GotsubsetO(5)$) on $S^4$ are constructed, and local linearity and stable smoothability of the actions are studied.

Review text

The basic question considered here is whether a finite group \(G\) which acts effectively and locally linearly on \(S^4\) must be isomorphic to a subgroup of \(O(5)\). The first main result completes earlier work of \textit{M. Mecchia} and \textit{B. Zimmermann} [Topology Appl. 158, No. 6, 741--747 (2011; Zbl 1234.57021)] by showing that if \(G\) acts locally linearly on a \(\mathbb{Z}\)-homology 4-sphere \(\Sigma\) and the action is orientation preserving then \(G\) embeds in \(SO(5)\). The argument uses the Atiyah-Bott theorem relating the tangential actions at distinct fixed points, together with a number of lemmas of a more elementary nature. Each of the restrictions on the action is necessary, even if \(\Sigma=S^4\). In the second part of the paper 4-dimensional TOP surgery over generalized quaternionic groups \(Q(8p,q)\) is used to construct counterexamples, for certain pairs of primes \(p,q\). If \(p,q\) are distinct primes then \(Q(8p,q)\) does not embed in \(O(5)\). It remains unknown whether there is a finite group \(G\) which acts \textit{smoothly} on \(S^4\) but which does not embed in \(O(5)\). The surgery arguments are elaborated to show that for certain pairs \(p,q\) there are two actions of \(Q(8p,q)\) on \(S^4\), one stably smoothable and another not stably smoothable.

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Cited in

(8)

• A remark on a fixed point of finite group action on \(S^ 4\)
• Invariants of \(S_ 4\) and the shape of sets of vectors
• Invariant four-forms and symmetric pairs
• Symmetries of order four on \(K3\) surfaces
• THE GROUP OF IMMERSIONS OF HOMOTOPY (4k-1)-SPHERES
• Which finite groups act smoothly on a given 4-manifold?
• On topological actions of finite, non-standard groups on spheres
• On finite groups acting on homology 4-spheres and finite subgroups of SO(5)

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